Of MerScales and Pearl Tears: StarCrossed Species
by jaredxkimx4ever
Summary: Bella Swan-Cullen, Emily Uley, Kimberly Conweller and LaPush newcomer, Alaysia Zoella are bonded together by a secret. Something that bonds together three unlikely species. Shape-shifter, vampire, and something no one in the world, knew existed but those that it concerns. And when one of them is captured by radical scientists, can the three species join in harmony, to save her?
1. Prologue

AN: Hey! This is a new story that popped into my head last night! I'm sure it has been done before, but I plan to make it special, so I hope you stick with me! :D ALL OTHER STORIES WILL BE ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! I apologize, but other than this plot, i have SEVERE writer's block.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight! However, this plot bunny is all my own! :D

REVIEW/REVIEW/REVIEW!...Please?

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-Prologue-

When someone tells you everything, every single thing about them that you could possibly know. Do you reciprocate? Even, if the secret you're keeping is deadly? Could change everything in unpredictable ways?

My name is Isabella Swan-Cullen.

My husband is a vampire.

He turned me less than a year ago. But there is something else. Something, I couldn't bring myself to tell him. He would have understood. That's just how he is, but I didn't want to risk having him leave me or take away our daughter or worse, accidently hurt him.

I thought I could stay away.

I tried so hard, to be a normal vampire, a good wife, and mother. Hell, a normal person in general.

_But it called to me_.

I would hear it whisper at night.

I could smell the salt in the air although even for an immortal I shouldn't have been able to smell it at this distance. My sisters called to me.

The ocean is my home.

Denying it only brought me closer and closer to exposing my own secret. Hindsight is 20/20 though. If only I had told him before they found me that night. Humans. Vile creatures, can only be counted on to destroy that which they do not understand.

I wouldn't be inside this cage.

Those filth peering their beady little eyes in at me and dangling bloody fish at the top of the shark tank. My Merwan ears picking up on their hushed conversations spoken in the guttural, ungraceful language that is the English dialect.

My dissection is planned for midnight.

In two hours time, the call of my sisters in their mourning will be heard all across the pacific ocean.

Because in two hours time, I will be lifted out of this saltwater tank, strapped to an examination table, and slit from head to fishtail.

But what the humans don't know, is that I have far more deadly weapons under my scales than they could ever possibly imagine.

I know that my Marion will come for me. I just have to survive until they do.

I glance sideways to the left of my tank, where there are two men in white jackets sterilizing silver instruments of various degrees of sharpness and length, and leering at me toothily.

_Yeah_, I grimace, _that might be a bit more difficult than I hoped._

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_REVIEWWWWWWWW. pleeeeaassseeee! _:D And if you can not figure out what she is...you are quite daft. BUT review and ask me and i will tell you. LOL.


	2. Ch1: The Curious Comb

Hello! I hope I still got some followers! :D Anyways, just for the record this story will be rated M for future dark themes, NOT SEX. Sorry, but I am not getting canned from this site just to write lemons. SO yeah…Please enjoy this chapter, and as always: review!

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The water is heaven, more so than any other day. It feels like something good is going to happen. No, that's not quite it. It's more like…something _big_ is going to happen today. The benevolence of that event has yet to be made clear.

I glide gracefully, my tail cutting through the water like a bird through air, and relish the feel of the water seeping throughout my tensed Merscales. I must be somewhere around the south end of Alaska because the water is noticeably colder, though that is merely an observation. Temperature does not affect me in ways it would a human, this is my natural habitat after all.

I'm contemplating turning back around to head home, my absence will no doubt have been noted, when out of the corner of my eye, something sparkles on the ocean floor. I angle my body slightly and torpedo in the direction of a bright orange coral bed.

As I approach, the shine dims until finally I am grasping the coral in my hands, and the light has dissipated completely. I move my long brown hair to float behind me, allowing my eyes a chance to scour the sand for what I had seen previously. A small, crystalline comb is sitting half-buried underneath a small cluster of oysters.

It's pretty, but that's not what catches my rapt attention as I pick it up. It's engraved with an Ancient Syrenia pattern; a fairly familiar pattern, that I had seen upon many an occasion as a child. I frown, smoothing my fingers over the indents and upraised design before looking up, and searching the surrounding waters for any sign of the owner.

Nothing. The waters were as clear as the sky, everything peaceful and undisturbed.

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When I got back to the house, I could hear everyone bustling about quietly inside. I stepped over the threshold, and a flurry _almost_ too fast for my eyes came hurtling at me.

"Hey sweetheart," I smile, and cradle my hyper daughter in the crook of my left elbow.

"Hi, mommy," she chirps, twirling a strand of my hair around her stubby little finger.

A warm hand rests on my hip, and I grin. It's still a little disorienting that we are now the same temperature, but I can already tell who it is. My heart feels his presence in a room, always. Turning my head, my stomach clenches as I press my lips to Edward's. His lips are cool, and soft. They brush mine tenderly, our breaths mingling, as heat builds in the pit of my belly. He brushes his tongue along the seam of my lips, and I allow him access. We are forced to pull away when the bundle of joy in my arms becomes a bundle of grossed out cootie disgust, and starts making 'yuck' noises.

I laugh into Edward's mouth and peck him one more time before I turn to face the family that gathered whilst we were, er…greeting.

"So, where have you been Bells? I thought your job interview would only take an hour or so at the least."

_Ah, Alice, of course she would ask_.

I felt horrible for my lie. But that didn't mean I had the courage to come out to everyone just yet.

"And B? Why do you reek of fish?" Emmett asks with a scrunched nose before I can answer.

Thank God, I can't blush in human form anymore.

"Uh, I stopped by the fish market, on the way home! Charlie and Billy are having a little fish fry out thing next week, and I thought I could contribute, or something. But I, uh, but there were no…fish" I trailed off stupidly.

Every eyebrow in the room lifted. Of course Emmett had to outdo everyone and lift two.

"Well, what I mean is that I didn't think any of them were…right for Charlie. Too…fishy," I backtracked, biting my lip and scrunching my nose.

_Buy it, buy it, buy it_…

"Well, okay then. Glad you're back sweetheart," Edward chuckles, kissing me on the temple before steering me to the couch.

_Aaaand…it's been bought, sold to a man in Saskatchewan, and bought back! Hallelujah_, I internally rejoice.

_Well, except for Jasper who is looking supremely confused by my change in moods…I wonder if he will buy menopause…_

He raises an eyebrow at me when I catch his eye. I smile with teeth. He looks away. 'Nuff said.

Everyone resumes what they were doing before I came back, and seeing as it is around one in the afternoon, that isn't much. Emmett is upstairs with Rosalie…exercising. Jasper is doing research with Carlisle up in his office. From the sounds of it they are discussing creative ways to approach asking someone something about something that that someone did? It's all very suspiciously vague, but I decide I'm too tired to be bothered to eavesdrop so I tune out. Alice is watching the latest in E! Fashion news on television, and Esme is reading a Martha Stewart magazine.

Edward is rubbing small circles on my side, and has his eyes closed with his head leaning onto my own. If I didn't know any better and there wasn't a ticklish sensation beginning to occur in my side, I'd think he was sleeping.

_I love you_, I think, gazing at him softly; taking in his straight nose, defined jawline, and his pouty lips.

I am sitting with most of my weight on my left hip, with my legs crossed Renesmee cuddling into her daddy's side sleepily. Due to my position, I can feel the comb I found digging into my thigh from inside my front pocket. It hurts. Very few things in this world can cause discomfort to a vampire, thus further confirming to myself that this comb is made of some really tough sh*t that comes from exactly where I thought when I first found it.

_I really need to talk to the girls. _

Closing my eyes, I open my lips infinitesimally, just barely enough room to fit a couple sheets of paper through, and focus on the two other minds that I have become quite in sync with the past several weeks. Once I am sure I am focused, I reach deep inside my throat and imagine my vocal chords shifting. In a moment or so, the familiar feeling of steely cold numbs my throat as I feel the muscles and tendons ripping, breaking, and stretching. The last chord snaps into place with a sharp flick, and I know the transformation is complete, and I now possess five more vocal chords than a human, and can communicate on a supersonic level with anyone I direct my voice to of my own species. Humans, vampires, and shape-shifters cannot- despite the superior hearing of the latter two- listen in on our conversations, much less even realize we are speaking.

I purr experimentally, feeling the chords literally vibrate against each other, and produce- to my ears at least- a high pitched keening sound. Edward shifts his arm a little, and I know he felt the slight vibration, but thinks I was clearing my throat or something to that effect.

Sucking in a deep breath through my slightly parted teeth, I aim all my energy at the tenuous bond linking Kim, Emily, (the only other two of my species this side of Washington that I am aware of) and myself together. In our species, each individual is always keenly aware of the bonds between herself and her sister. From the moment we are born, we gain an entire network of links to every mind in the world that was born into the network as well. It is a very effective communication system.

(AN: I'll explain more about this mind link later. Think of it though, as similar to the wolves' link only it exists all the time no matter what form they are in. Sorry about the confusion.)

I send a light trilling note down the link, probably would have sounded something similar to a doorbell ringing, and if it were English would sound like "hello" or a similar greeting. A moment or two later, I receive two separate trills back in response. One high-pitched, that would be Kim, perky as ever, and the other a bit more level toned, Emily, always the calm one. They were both positive- if not a little confused- responses signaling that they were able to talk at the moment.

I open my eyes to make sure no one is paying me any attention, before I launch into deep conversation. Coast is clear.

So I close my eyes again, needing to focus on the connection because of the distance between myself and the girls. It is not a mental link, per se, yes, I am connected to the girls mentally, but the discussion will be vocalizations that can reach their ears from anywhere in the world. I will need both sides though; I cannot speak to them without the mental link. Or it'd be like talking to someone who was deaf. It is very complicated, but amazing as well, and still one of the things I admired most about my species, growing up.

_Girls, I found something while I was out swimming today,_ I trilled.

"_In the ocean_?" and, "_what is it_?" were the responses that came in fast, clicks, signifying curiosity and/or excitement.

I rolled my eyes behind my closed lids at the first question, and told them we should just discuss it in person, because I had to show them what it was.

_No, Kim, I went swimming in the __**bathtub**__, discovered something, and then just had to use the link to tell you and Em_, I trilled dryly.

_I doubt anything you find in there, we'd ever want you to share with us;_ Emily's bell-like giggle reaches my ears.

Kim makes a chuffing noise that is universally recognized as annoyance by our kind. Picture a dog sneezing, only more elegant sounding. Yes that is possible.

_Anyway I think we should wait to discuss it, because I want you to see it first_, I carry on, _all you need to know right this moment…_the weight of the comb, the prick of teeth on the end is brought back to the forefront of my mind, as I picture the beautiful girl who once wore it.

_Is what_? Kim's voice echoes off the walls of the Cullen living room because of the silence on our link, shaking me out of my thoughts.

_We need to start patrolling the waters again_, I respond going in a different direction than before, _because, I might be wrong, but I think there's someone out there. _

_Like who_! They both respond eagerly.

_My sister_, I murmur picturing her as I last saw her twelve years ago.

Before she disappeared into the ocean and the last I ever saw of her was her yellow, luminescent tail flicking up out of the water before submerging under the dark tide of saltwater.

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REVIEW pleaaase! And let me know if i should continue this...:/ not feeling like this story gets much love...but anyway just a simple "Good job" will even do! Suggestions are VERY welcome, and flames/and/or criticism are not necessarily appreciated, but will be accepted. :D


	3. Ch2: Girl Talk

AN: Hey everyone! I'm not getting much of a response here on this story so I'm skeptical as to whether or not I should finish it… But anyway here is the next chapter! I delved a little deeper into their history, and I actually state what they are several times thought I tried not to use it too often. So, I hope it's interesting to you!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Twilight, or its characters. But I do own a really sexy, Bella/Edward poster

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**Of Merscales and Pearl Tears: StarCrossed Species**

****Chapter Two: Girl Talk

After putting Nessie down for a nap, giving Edward a _long_ kiss goodbye, and evading yet another terrifying shopping trip with the girls, I am heading down for a trip to hang with some of the imprints. Ever since the battle with the Volturi, I made a point to check on them and we became good friends. At least that's the story everyone else knows. We are bonded much, much more strongly than they could possibly know though.

Kim's house is very quaint, but tasteful.

She has beautiful flowers blossoming along each side of the walk path to her front door, her grass is the shocking green most of La Push yards sport due to the constant rain pour, and the house itself is quite a lovely shade of periwinkle with white window shutters and a brown wooden door. My smooth, black Prius rolls up beside her driveway with barely any noise. Since Old Red died several months back, a fact which Edward is _still_ ecstatic about, I have been reluctantly using the car he bought for me as an 'after' car, a gift to suit me in my immortality.

(AN: I know he didn't get her a Prius, but I like them so yeah…pretend!: D)

It's not that it isn't a _nice_ car…it's just not the same, I guess. I will always miss the massively loud, and obnoxious clunking my junky truck used to make when tried to make it go faster than thirty miles an hour. It was like my calling card. Now I can actually sneak up on people when I come over, so I suppose it's not _all_ bad.

Sliding out of the front seat, I glance up automatically. The sun is still hidden behind some morose-looking rain clouds, but the weather has yet to become anything less than a pleasant, slightly humid heat. At least, I don't think we have to worry about the sun for today when one of us goes patrolling later.

I can smell the girls unique scents from the sidewalk as I approach the house, both smell good, but not in an I-want-to-eat-you way; merely in that they smell like the water lotus in the early morn, and water poppy respectively.

All mermaids have a scent associated with their oceanic birthplace. Kim was born off the coast of Australia, the most prominent aquatic flora found in the specific area she was born at the time of her conception had been the purple Water Lotus, thus she smells essentially of that flower, but with bits of other scents mixed in. Emily was born off the coast of Japan during the spring time, and the scent of the water had been heavily influenced by the Water Poppy, thus that is what scent she carries as well.

I myself have been told I smell of freesia, which is not a plant often seen as aquatic. That is because I was born on land, _near_ water, but not _in_ it. But that is a story for another day.

Kim answers before I have time to knock, as I suspected she would. Like I said before, our ears are extremely in tune with one another's presence. It is seriously unlikely for mortals to catch one of our kinds off guard, and it is downright impossible for one mermaid to sneak up on another considering our extensive mind link. It is a blessing for coordinating with one another, however, and it is fairly rare for mermaids to feel the need to slink around each other anyway.

We are a close species. And while humans and other creatures of similar persuasion can be counted on to betray, and hurt each other on a daily basis, we Merfolk have a deep, abiding sense of true loyalty to one another. Arguments are common, but long lasting fights are unheard of in our society.

So, naturally both girls were excited to see me. Kim opened the door, and ushered me inside happily. She obviously already invited Emily over, and she lives only a street or so away from her so it was no surprise when a chipper squeal greeted my ears as I stepped over the threshold.

I cringed my supersonic hearing bugging me a little, and Emily clamped a hand over her mouth and looks at me sheepishly. I just giggled and rolled my eyes at her antics. She resembles my sister-in-law, Alice Cullen so strongly that I can never get angry at either of them.

"Okay, so now what?" Kim asks as her and Em sitting on the couch.

I take a deep breath, sit down on the loveseat adjacent to her cream colored, leather couch, and reach a hand into my pocket.

"This is what I found," I murmur, holding up the beautiful comb in front of me.

They both 'oohed' before taking it out of my hand and examining it.

"Wait a second," Kim frowned, tracing the comb with her thumb, much like I did the first time I found it.

"You spotted it too, huh?" I pursed my lips.

"This has to be Syrenian!" Kim exclaims with wide eyes, "Only one of us could ever know how to engrave the language on one of these, much less understand what it even means!"

"What does this mean, Bella? I thought we were the only three around this area?" Emily asks, letting worry color her tone slightly.

"Remember what I said before?"

"Oh, that's right! You said something about a sister?" Kim pipes up.

"Yeah," I nod, "about twelve years ago, when I was just turning eight years old, my big sister, Camilla disappeared."

Kim sucked in a breath, Emily covered her mouth with her hand, and both looked at me with dawning sadness.

"I remember the day so clearly. It was the first time I found out that I was adopted. I didn't grow up in the ocean like you guys did," I exhaled and closed my eyes, "my mom didn't want me to grow up so close to it. So we always lived in states that didn't touch the ocean. 'All I ever want for you', she used to say, 'Is for you to be as normal as possible.' All I remember thinking, is 'how could she do this?' I mean she was a mermaid too. Or so I thought."

The girls leaned forward, perching on the edge of the couch, any other time I would have found it comical. Not so much, right now.

"I found out the day that Camilla left that mom had found me on a fishing boat, early in her and my dad's marriage. That my and Camilla's real mom was out there somewhere, and she had given us up for some unknown reason. And then Camilla said that it was time."

"Time?" Emily asks, "Time for what?"

"She said it was time for her to join Mom, to go home. And that one day when I was ready, I would join too, and then she _swam_ _away_," I shook my head, "But I never figured out what she meant by ready."

"Well, how old was she the day she left?" Kim asked, I can see the wheels turning in her head, and I knew where she was going with this.

"Eighteen," I tilted my head, "so if I was ready at eighteen it would have been ideal, but I didn't get a sign, and Edward and I were having all sorts of things going on in our relationship, and…time passed," I shrug my shoulders.

"Well maybe that's it," Kim theorizes, "Maybe you were so wrapped up in Edward that you forgot all about it. Or something to that effect."

Hmm, I see where she's coming from, but I'm not buying it.

"Nah," I scrunch my lips up, and shake my head, "I don't think I quite buy that. It would have registered, I just know it."

Kim looked stumped. That's when I realized Emily was being awfully silent. I shifted my gaze to her, and see she's fiddling with the comb with a somber expression on her face. This immediately alarms me, Emily is always perky. I have seen her sad a handful of times, and all of them had to do with when Sam, her wolf mate, left to do something dangerous. As far as I know, Sam is on patrol with Jared, Kim's wolf, and Paul, the notoriously most volatile wolf of the pack, and that they are all just fine.

"Em?"

Her head shoots up, and an automatic smile slides onto her face. Reflex. Which means something's really bothering her. Kim shakes out of her reverie, and looks sideways at Emily.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay, girl?"

"Uh, yeah. The comb just, um…reminds me of someone," she mutters, head down.

Kim looks like she's mentally slapping herself, and grimaces apologetically at Emily. What did I miss?

"Oh, Em. I'm sorry," She soothes, wrapping her arm around Emily's shoulders comfortingly.

"Um, guys," I whisper awkwardly, "what's going on? Did something happen?"

Kim looked like she was about to speak before Emily cut her off, "My mom died just after I was born."

"Her entire Marion died off. Apparently because of some type of poisoning caused by human fisherman. There was too much oil in the water, and they could not breathe. They left the area but the effect of the oil on their food sources was detrimental, and they all starved to death before they could reach an uninfected area. My mom left me with my human dad, and died right there on the shore of the beach," there were tears running down her face as she spoke, but her voice stayed calm and clear, "she was so close to food. But she used everything she had to save my life, not hers."

"Oh, Emily!" I cried my heart clenching.

I threw myself across the room at vampire speed, and cradled her in my arms; Kim hugged us both from the side.

"I'm so sorry!" I whimpered.

How could I be so stupid? I am talking about my mom, so callously, when she had _lost_ hers. My mom may not have been the best mom, but she was still there for me. Emily grew up with just her father, from what I understand, and that is much worse. He could never understand.

"It's okay," Emily said, "you didn't know."

"Still," I argue, and we separate, "I'm so sorry."

She smiles at me, and we both smile at Kim before I get back in the loveseat. Everybody takes a collective sigh, and we just sit and think for a moment.

"So, back to what you said before," Emily says, her chipper attitude slowly coming back, "you think that your sister is back?"

"I'm not sure what to think," I huff, mentally exhausted, "I mean it could be any one, but you guys know that no mermaid ever _**voluntarily**_ loses her BirthCrown," I gesture to the comb in Emily's hands, "I mean she would lose _everything_!"

BirthCrown's to our kind, are like a human's cellphone, organizer, bank account, computer, social security, identity and _personality_ all wrapped up in one. It's _important_. No one of us could survive longer than a few days without ours. It is created by the Marion's oldest member, and bestowed on the Merchild immediately upon its arrival. It is never supposed to be removed.

"You mean, you think whoever it belongs to is…dead?" Kim frowns.

"I'm not sure of anything, right now girls. I just think we should keep an eye out, because we don't know who or what it could be," I speak gravely.

We all nod affirmative, and I stand up to bid them goodbye.

"Bella?" Emily asks after I have given Kim a hug and turn to her, "I'm sorry about your biological mom, and your sister."

"Thanks. And I'm sorry about your mom," I give her a half-smile show her I know how she feels.

We embrace, and then I am on my way out before Kim's voice rings out one last question.

"Wait, you guys, what about creating a patrol schedule?" Kim laughs.

"Oh! Right, um, well do you think it should be extensive patrolling? Or just like skimming around?" I answer.

"Well, I think right now, it'll be easier to just skim. I mean who knows how long that's been there? I mean it could have happened years ago, and the person could have just passed through. Besides, I don't think any of us can give a believable excuse to our guys about _why_ we are spending so much time away from them…" Emily trails off and grimaces, "and I really don't _want_ to spend time away from Sam either."

"Yeah, that sounds logical," I nod my head in agreement.

Kim hums in agreement.

"So, I'll take mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Kim you can have evenings on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and Emily you can patrol periodically all day Saturday, and evenings on my days. If anyone feels like it, and can get away for a bit then they can do the mornings on Kim's days. We clear?" I order.

There may be only three of us, but in our little group I am the established head of our small Marion. This makes Kim and Emily my Marionettas. They do my bidding. It's not quite the same as the dynamic of an Alpha in the wolf pack, similar, but to a much lesser effect. They can refuse an order, but they would be exiled. In our world if you don't belong to a Marion, then you are considered a massive target for all sorts of dangers.

I never force the girls though. I strongly suggest things, but I never hold it against them if they choose to do something else. We are friendlier than most Marion leaders are with their Marionettas, though that's not by much. All mermaids are kind hearted, and we don't have a rude bone in our bodies which makes for a happy, group dynamic.

Both the girls smile, and I return it whole-heartedly before waving, and leaving, shutting the door behind me.

Instead of going directly back to the car though, I decide to make my first rounds. I check my phone, text Edward that I will be gone an hour or so longer, and then put my phone in the car. Thankfully Kim's house is within eyeshot of the beach, and I do not have far to walk. But when I reach the beach, I can see a woman standing near the water, but not touching it.

Her hair is long, dark brown with cherry tint to it, and it is extremely curly. She is really slight, but tall and she holds herself with a sense of entitlement, almost snooty but not quite, more confident. She looks _really_ familiar. As I get closer, and she turns to see who is approaching, I realize why.

My mouth opens, and my eyes widen.

I attempt to make noise, but nothing comes out of my gaping mouth.

The girl smiles widely, and I can see the laugh lines on the corner of her mouth, and around her dark, brown eyes. _My_ eyes.

"C-Cam-milla?" I choke out, venom welling in my eyes.

My sister smiles, and beckons me with a flick of her hand.

I just blink at it, and stare, shocked.

"I thought I'd never find you."

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Oooh, so yes, we meet the sister. I know it is a little fast in the story, but trust me there are plenty of things to anticipate later on in the story!


	4. Ch:3 Selkies and Sisters

Hey everyone. SOO, I finally got a couple reviews! Good to know that I am not the only one enjoying/curious about this story. So please keep reviewing! Because I KNOW you're reading it!

NOTE: The first and second reviewer of this chapter before midnight Sunday, who tells me what they would like to see happen or some kind of special feature they would like the mermaids to have then I will put them in this story as a minor character but they will have several parts as either:

One of the wolves imprints

A friend of the Vamps (if you're on the Vamp side)

Or I will make you a mermaid!

YOUR PICK BUT YOU MUST REVIEW!

Translations: _Cara_- Dear _Mia Bella_- my sweet (It is not uncommon for members of Italian families of all relations to call each other this. For instance, a sister calling a younger sister these is common. I don't speak much Italian but I AM part Italian…so yeah.

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**Of Merscales and Pearl Tears: StarCrossed Species**

Chapter Three: Selkies and Sisters

"_I thought I'd never find you."_

My mouth snaps shut, and my eyes narrow.

"What the hell?" I finally regain use of my mouth, "What kind of greeting did you _expect_!?"

She frowns and her hand falls down to her side.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I don't know," I shake my head, "How do you expect me to react? You abandoned me for _twelve_ years! Twelve. Years."

I am pissed, and confused, and happy all at the same time. But at the moment anger is winning, and I am not afraid to show it.

"_Cara_, I am so sorry. I thought you would have understood by now," a look of profound sadness washes over her face, "I only did what was best at the time. I know I hurt you, _Mia Bella_. But it was time for me to join Mom. She had called to me. Our Marion had been under attack; she had been fighting them for years, but she knew I would be ready when she called me, so she did."

"What!? No, no," I gasped.

How can this be? Did mom survive? What attacked them?

"Bella," Camilla whispers, breaking me out of my reverie, "It was _humans_."

"What!" I yell, "That's impossible! Humans have nothing but childish myths on us! Was it accidental?"

"They were scientists," she said, "they came with these large, clear tank-like cages that they put underwater, and once one of the young Marionettas ventured in on accident, the cage shut and they pulled her up out of the water! After that, the rest of the Marion scattered, but they used guns with these fuzzy bullets that shot through the water so _fast_. Most of us didn't make it."

Tears welled in her eyes, and she collapsed onto the sand, staring out at the ocean. I walked cautiously up to her, and sat next to her.

"Clammy," I used her old nickname, "What about mommy?"

Silence. I began to fidget nervously with my fingers as the worse possible scenarios flashed through my head.

"She didn't make it," she said in a raspy voice.

_No_, I close my eyes, and cover my mouth.

"Bella, the state of things is so much worse than you could possibly imagine," Camilla continues, "The waters are so, so chaotic. It's anarchy. All the Marion leaders are declaring a Deep Sea Hibernation."

"Things can't have gotten that bad!" I am shocked as _hell_, "There hasn't been a Deep Sea Hibernation amongst our kind since the Middle Ages when the Selkies began drawing too much attention upon us."

Deep Sea Hibernation is exactly what it sounds like. It is where all the Marion heads, the leaders of a certain number of Mermaids in a concentrated group that travel, eat, and sleep together, declare a hibernation period due to some kind of threat to our extinction or a threat of discovery by the human population.

The last time the Marion leaders ordered one was in the medieval times, and a sister species of ours, the Selkies, began drawing far too much attention from the humans. They had started becoming more and more reckless, and were getting kidnapped off shore when they let their guard down. They were creating a spectacle, and the mortals were beginning to question the existence of our kind as well. The Marion leaders all over the world agreed to head into a sort of cryogenic sleep until the Selkies' situation died down.

Selkies are beautiful women that live underwater, and take the form of seals. When they become dry they can remove their seal skin, and underneath they are extremely beautiful women. Without her pelt, a Selkie is forced to live on land as a mortal. Because of the Selkies' flighty nature, they would not stay in one place or one form for very long which is what we had been counting on.

We figured they would eventually head back into deeper waters, away from humans and we Mermaids could resurface in a few decades or so. We were wrong. The hibernation lasted precisely four hundred and seventy-nine years before we could come out of hiding.

While in Deep Sea Hibernation, An entire Marion would travel together, and find a place in the deepest parts of the ocean to lie down on the sand and slow their body's processes down in order to preserve their heart and life force for however long they plan to go without food. They become still like statues, and their scales lose their shine, their hair is reduced to nothing much more than seaweed and the gills lined on their spine seal up. The only thing to wake a Mermaid in hibernation is a tap to their BirthCrown.

Back then BirthCrown's were sewed into their hair, and on display, thus making it easier to wake them. They are worn in all different manners now, as trends come and go.

The fact that the Marion's were contemplating Deep Sea Hibernation is _frightening_. It means I would have to leave my family for God only knows how long. I would not be able to stay on land, once a state of Hibernation has been ordered, it is physically impossible to refute the order. I am the Marion leader in our trio, however my native Marion in the water has a different Marion leader, and I would hear her call no matter how far away.

"Bella?" Camilla is touching my shoulder gently.

I am startled to realize it has been multiple minutes since we last spoke. I didn't even notice the time.

"Yeah?"

"You know what has to be done, right?"

"If they order it, I must comply. I am well aware," I speak coldly.

"I am just making sure. I know about your family," Camilla shrugs, "and I am sorry, but you know the way of our life. It is the best for them as well."

"How can leaving my family, be _good_ for them!" I burst out, frustrated.

She looks stunned but recovers quickly, "Because if the humans found you there would be nothing they could do to stop them from taking you. It would only bring them pain."

_Damn_. She's right. But she doesn't know that we are vampires, she didn't factor that into my survival rate.

"I guess," I murmur nonchalantly.

"Well, now what?"

"I don't know. I was heading out to-" and then it dawns on me, the comb!

"Cam, do you have your BirthCrown?" I ask hurriedly.

"Duh," she looks at me like I've grown a second head.

Fair enough, you either have it, or you're already dead.

"Well, I found this," I dig the comb out of my pocket and hold it out to her, "when I went swimming earlier this morning."

She gingerly handles it, and then to my shock she brings it up to her mouth and her tongue swiftly peeks out and taps it.

"Uh, Cam?" I raise an eyebrow, "watcha doing?"

"It's a skill, Mom and I never got around to teaching you. We have superior taste buds; any DNA left on this comb can be identified by our taste. I'm getting a bit of a freesia vibe, which is you because you touched it last. I also smell Water lily, and Poppy, is it?" she looks to me.

"Yeah, that's Kim and Emily. My Marionettas," I confess.

"Oh, your two friends up in the house?" she asks, "I can feel their mind link pinging every now and then, their talking about something."

"So other than them, do you taste anything?" I asked.

She looks like she's thinking hard and then finally she shakes her head, and sighs.

"Well, what good help you gave," I roll my eyes playfully.

She smiles at me. I haven't quite forgiven her for abandoning me. At least now I know why, and I would have done the same thing if it had been me. So it's a start. Maybe it's possible to regain the trusting relationship we had before.

"So, what should we do?" I twist my fingers anxiously.

Camilla pauses for a moment, and looks out to the water once again.

"Well, for right now?" She suddenly turns and smiles at me, "how about you introduce me to your two 'lil Marionettas up there?"

I laugh, the tension eased a bit.

"I can't. My husband is expecting me home soon. But you can go if you like, and I'll tell them through the mind link that it really is you."

She shakes her head and winks at me.

"Nah, I'd rather meet this husband of yours!"

* * *

Well that's it for this chapter, but I am already working on number four! So please review! Remember if you're the first reviewer before Sunday I will put you in this story!


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